


After

by kaitlyn_chronicles



Series: It’s Too Late [3]
Category: Glee
Genre: Guilt, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Multi, Shock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2018-10-15
Packaged: 2019-07-27 10:08:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16216838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaitlyn_chronicles/pseuds/kaitlyn_chronicles
Summary: Reactions to Sebastian’s suicide.





	1. Sebastian’s Parents

**August 28, 2013 (Smythe Mansion)**

The loud boom jolted Francis and Celeste Smythe awake. The silence, then the clatter of something falling to the ground caused them to jump from their cushioned seats.

They slowly approached the spiraling staircase that lead upstairs. Celeste hesitantly called her son’s name. Upon getting no response, the woman looked to her husband. Seemingly coming to a simultaneous conclusion, the couple rushed upstairs. 

They came to a halt before their son’s bedroom door, unnerved to find it cracked open. Sebastian never left his door open. 

Francis stepped in front of his wife and pushed on the door. The sight that greeted him would haunt him for the rest of his life.

His son, his Sebastian, was laying on his bed, legs hanging off the edge and a gun at his feet. Blood was gathered around Sebastian’s head, staining his pristine white sheets a deep crimson. That was all Francis was able to take in before Celeste pushed past him, screaming at the scene in front of her.

Francis up picked his wife from the waist, flinching as she kicked and screamed at him. He dragged her out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Still keeping a tight hold on Celeste, he ripped his mobile from his pocket and dialed emergency services. He was put through and explained the situation to the woman on the other end of the line, fighting to hold back his tears.

It was only a short time later when the couple heard the screech of sirens in the distance. Celeste had stopped fighting and was now sitting against the wall next to Sebastian’s door, sobs muffled in her hands.

The next half an hour or so was a complete blur to the couple. Emergency services, both police officers and paramedics, arrived to the house and hurried through their jobs. The police got Celeste and Francis out of the mansion quickly and left them in the hands of several capable medics.

Celeste had finally calmed down enough to speak to them, but lost it as two paramedics wheeled a stretcher out of the house, the body on it covered by a sheet. She buried her head in Francis’s shoulder as the medics attempted to console her. Francis sat still, a stoic look on his face. He knew he had to stay strong for his wife, even if their relationship wasn’t the greatest.

Over the next couple days, the police were slowly able to piece together an idea of what could’ve driven Sebastian to take his own life. A divided home, being sent away, and perhaps a missed diagnosis of bipolar depression. The letters Sebastian had written were given to the proper people, including his show choir group in Ohio, a rival group’s director, and Sebastian’s brothers. 

The first few days were the easiest for Celeste and Francis, for they were still in shock. It was the following days that would hurt more than anything in the world.


	2. The Warblers

**August 29, 2013 (Duval Residence)**

Nick was having the time of his life. He was hosting a party for the Warblers before the new school year began and for the most part, it was amazing to be able to relax. 

All the graduates had been rushing around the past few weeks, trying to get ready for college (except Thad, who was taking a year off to travel). Underclassmen were there too, bugging the alumni on tips and tricks to run the Warblers. As they asked their questions, Nick couldn’t help but think that Sebastian and Hunter would be much more capable of answering them. Neither of them were here though. Hunter had joined the military after getting out of rehab and no one had a clue where Sebastian was.

He had said he’d be there when they were planning the party in May, but he had never shown up. For some reason, it didn’t sit right with Nick, but he decided he was just angry at his friend for not coming.

Sighing, Nick wandered into his living room and curled up on the couch next to Jeff. Them, Thad, and maybe a few of the responsible underclassmen were the only ones still sober enough to comprehend anything.

The couple sat in a comfortable silence until they were interrupted by Nick’s phone ringing. Confused, he looked at the clock. Who would be calling him at three in the morning? He stared at the caller ID and it suddenly made sense.

”Sebastian! Why the hell-“ 

“ _This isn’t Sebastian_.”

Nick glanced at Jeff and saw that he had heard and was just as puzzled as Nick. He put the phone on speaker.

”Then who is this?”

” _My name is Kyle Garretson. I work with the Mariposa County Sheriff’s office. Are you...Nicky_?”

”Uh, yeah, I guess. It’s Nick, though, Nick Duval.”

Jeff was holding back a laugh. He knew that Nick hated being called Nicky. Sebastian and Jeff would say it all the time just to get him riled up.

” _Nick, I am sorry to inform you that the owner of this phone, Sebastian Smythe, committed suicide at five o’clock yesterday afternoon._ ”

Nick could feel his whole face drop. He couldn’t process what he had just heard. Sebastian...killed himself. No. That didn’t make any sense. There was no way.

”Officer, I think you might have the wrong person. There’s no way the Sebastian I know would do that.”

” _Sorry son, we have a positive ID from the parents. Your friend is dead. I’m sorry._ ” The line went silent.

Nick sat there for a moment, still not completely understanding. How could Sebastian just be...gone? That boy, who was so full of life and sass and talent. All he ever was just didn’t exist anymore? How could that be true? Nick didn’t feel the tears rolling his face until Jeff slowly wiped them away, not bothering to conceal his own.

”Sebastian’s dead,” Nick stated numbly.

Jeff’s choked on his own breaths before answering. “Yeah.”

Suddenly, Nick burst off the couch. “That’s absolute insanity!” he shouted. “There’s no way Sebastian fucking Smythe would ever even _consider_ doing something like that. Why would he. He was happy right? No, he is happy. This is some sort of weird, alcohol-induced hallucination. None of it is real!” He let out a bitter laugh that quickly turned to sobbing. “It can’t be true,” he cried. “It can’t be.”

The boy collapsed to his knees, sobbing into his hands. Jeff joined him on the floor, pulling him into a tight hug while also crying for their friend. It took them several minutes to calm down enough to realize they would have to tell the Warblers.

Dread and sadness weighing heavy on their hearts, Nick and Jeff went outside. It was a complete madhouse, but Jeff got the DJ’s attention and told him to cut the music. Angry Warblers turned and prepared to yell, but stopped when they took on the graduates’ faces. 

Jeff cleared his throat. “Can I have everyone’s attention please?” People shouted, heads turned, and finally, everyone was gathered.

Jeff looked took a quick glance at Nick before launching into what happened. “We-we just got a phone call inside,” he started. He sniffed, trying to hold back his tears the best he could. “It was from a police officer in California. They...they said...” Jeff trailed off, taking a moment to collect himself before pressing on. “They said that Sebastian was...that he was dead.”

Silence followed those words. No one knew what to say. No one knew what to think. Then, a quiet voice cane from the back of the group. Thad. “How?”

Nick looked down at his feet and hesitated before answering himself. “Suicide.”

A sudden uproar came from the group of boys. “That can’t be Sebastian, then!” One shouted. The surrounding Warblers gave nods of agreement. Others were yelling that this was one of Sebastian’s little pranks and he was going to pop out of the house at any minute and surprise everybody.

Soon, everybody’s voices died out. They realized that not even Sebastian would make up something this awful. In their drunken state, many of the Warblers had trouble grasping the reality of the situation, but those sober enough to understand the gravity of what happened were heart broken. Most were crying. Others were struggling to hold in their tears. 

One of their brothers was gone. He had taken himself out of the world. And none of them had even known he was feeling down until after he had decided to do something about it. That hurt more than anything, the fact that they hadn’t noticed. Were they that bad of friends?

It just wasn’t fair. Sebastian had his whole life in front of him. He was an talented athlete, an amazing performer, and not to mention a fucking genius. He could’ve gotten in to any college he wanted, but for some reason, he never applied for anything. Now the Warblers understood why. He had known. He had known from the beginning that he was going to end his life before ever actually living.

Nick started crying again. Jeff held him in his arms, whispering soothing words. At some point, Thad joined them and they both wrapped him in a hug, the other boy breaking down as soon as he was touched.

Nick still didn’t understand. After all they had been through together, one of his best friends was gone. _He_ _didn’t_ _understand._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had trouble finding a place to stop this chapter but I finally had to cut it down because I was writing in circles. Next up, New Directions.


	3. New Directions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s been a long time since I’ve watched season 5 and 6 of Glee because I found them boring, so any information about the New Directions may or may not be true. I don’t really care if it’s not canon, so please don’t judge. I’m going to make up a bunch of stuff using roughly what I remember. Sorry if this bothers anyone!

**August 29, 2013 (Anderson Household)**

Blaine groaned as he was awoken by the shrieking of his alarm clock. He slammed his hand on it to stop the obnoxious noise, only to become frustrated when it wouldn’t stop going off. Finally, when he was able to quiet it, he threw his head back against his pillow.

It was his last day in Lima before he left to go to New York and live with Kurt. It had been a long summer trying to get everything ready to move and all the other crap that goes with it. Don’t get him wrong, Blaine was ecstatic. He couldn’t wait to be with Kurt in the city of his dreams, but he was also leaving behind everything he had in Ohio. And on top of that, he had to get up at _four fucking a.m._ to catch his flight. He really needed some coffee.

With a lot of effort, Blaine was able to drag himself away from his warm bed and slipped into his traveling clothes, loose sweats and a t-shirt. If he was going to get an early flight, then he was at least going to be comfortable while doing it.

After making his coffee and triple checking his bags, he was ready to go. His parents and Cooper had said their goodbyes the previous night (they weren’t happy that he was leaving), so there was nothing stopping him.

Until his phone started ringing.

By the time he had gotten dressed and all that, it was almost 5:30. Confused, Blaine grabbed his phone and looked at the caller’s name. It was Trent.

He answered it, not finding the energy to be angry. “Trent? It’s 5:30 in the morning. Why are you calling me?” On the other end of the line, he could hear Trent’s heavy breathing. It almost sounded like he was...crying. “Trent? What’s wrong?”

The other boy answered slowly, voice hoarse. “ _It-it’s Sebastian_ ,” he sniffed. “ _He’s gone_.”

Blaine furrowed his eyebrows. “Gone? Trent, what do you mean, Sebastian’s gone?”

” _He’s dead, Blaine!_ ” Trent cried. “ _He’s dead and it’s all our fault!_ ”

”What?” Blaine felt his heart skip a beat. His mouth was dry. He felt numb. Sebastian was...dead. Those words didn’t seem to work together. He must’ve misheard Trent. Maybe he said Sebastian was...red? A prank gone wrong, perhaps?

On the other end, Trent was almost sobbing. “ _Blaine, he killed himself! He was falling apart and no one noticed! What kind of friends are we?_ ” He was nearly hysterical.

”Trent, calm down,” Blaine soothed. “Breathe and tell me what happened.”

” _Nick and Jeff, they said they got a phone call from an officer in Cali. They-they said that the officer was calling because Sebastian had...was dead,_ ” Trent explained. Blaine could tell he was having a hard time composing himself. 

“That...” Blaine trailed off. What was he supposed to say? He didn’t know Sebastian, not really. Not like the Warblers did. “I’m sorry,” he said before hanging up.

 He stood in the hallway of his house, feeling conflicted. Did he stay and comfort his friends? Did he just move on with his life and go to New York? Sighing, Blaine called Kurt.

It rang a few times before the other boy picked up. “ _Hey Blaine!_ ” Kurt answered cheerfully. Blaine smiled slightly. The older boy had always been an early riser.

”Kurt,” Blaine greeted gently.

It didn’t take Kurt more than a second to figure out something was up. “ _What’s wrong_?” He asked urgently.

”Uh, well, there was an...incident.” Kurt’s silence on the other end encouraged Blaine to keep talking. “With Sebastian.” Then, realizing how that probably sounded, he continued before Kurt could say anything. “But not anything bad! I mean, it’s actually really, really bad, but not that kind bad!”

” _Okay?_ ” Kurt pushed. “ _So what is it?_ ”

”He-Sebastian, I mean-he, uh, did something really bad.” Now Blaine was struggling to keep it together. “Something irreversible.”

” _I swear, if he hurt someone again..._ ” Kurt trailed off, leaving Blaine to wonder how he would’ve finished that sentence.

The younger boy took a deep breath. “No, not anything like that. He killed himself, Kurt.” There. He had finally said it. 

Kurt was quiet before a small voice came through the line. “ _He’s dead_?”

Tears rolled down Blaine’s face as he finally allowed himself to cry. “Yeah, Kurt. He’s dead.”

Telling the others wasn’t as difficult as telling Kurt had been. Most of them had no reaction besides giving their condolences and maybe tearing up a little. It hurt Blaine to realize that a lot of them probably didn’t really care. Like, someone died and it’s sad, but nobody seemed to talk about it like they did when David tried.

It made sense though. Sebastian made a lot of people’s lives crap and many others barely even knew him. Hell, Blaine barely knew him.

He didn’t end up going to New York. He stayed in Ohio until he could figure out where and when Sebastian’s funeral was going to be. Kurt was also flying out for it. Rachel wasn’t, but Blaine didn’t blame her. She had only talked with Sebastian a few times and all the experiences were bad. In fact, no one but Blaine, Kurt, and Santana (surprisingly) were going.

With the funeral scheduled for two weeks away, Blaine felt anxious. This would be the first funeral he had ever attended, and it was for someone his own age. Someone with so much life left to live. Someone so smart and talented in everything he did. Someone who was so miserable that he saw it fit to end his own life. 

Blaine broke down sobbing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok definitely not my best work but it’ll do I guess.


End file.
